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Major Challenges Facing Canada and the World

1. Water Issues

2. Global Warming

3. Environmental Sustainability

4. Your Ecological Footprint

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Water Issues

How much water do you and your family use each day?

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How closely do you think your water use matches the percentage breakdown in this pie graph?

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Canada’s fresh water needs to be protected from…

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Two Proposed Water Diversion Plans

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The Second Issue in This Unit Is…

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As of 2004, the five hottest years on record have been:

1. 1998

2. 2002

3. 2003

4. 2004

5. 2001

What has happened since 2004?

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Earth’s Atmosphere Traps Heat Like a Greenhouse

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The consequences of global warming could be devastating:

• Parts of the world close to sea level, such as Bangladesh, could suffer permanent flooding.

• Canada’s North is already being affected! Scientists have discovered that global warming affects polar regions more dramatically than other parts of the globe.

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How Can We Reduce Global Warming?

Buying appliances that use less energy can help.

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Environmental Sustainability

The Environmental Sustainability Index (ESI) has been created to measure environmental progress in 146 countries. It considers each country’s current environmental conditions and sustainability over the next several decades.

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Sustainable development meets the needs of people in the present without affecting the ability of people in the future to meet their needs.

• The 2005 ESI Report ranks Canada…

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…in sixth place!

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Your Ecological Footprint

What is the environmental (ecological) impact of your lifestyle?

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How can we determine the impact that all our activities have on the environment?

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The ecological footprint (EF) is one method for measuring the impact of all our activities.

• The EF measures the ecological impact of a person’s activities by determining the amount of productive land and water (in hectares) required to support that person and to dispose of his or her wastes.

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How Big Is the Average Canadian’s EF?

The amount of productive land needed to support the lifestyle of the average Canadian is...

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How does Canada’s EF compare with the world’s EF?

What does this diagram tell you about Canada?

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Taking Action

What actions can we take to reduce our EF?

We can

• reduce our consumption of resources

• reduce the production of wastes

• recycle materials

• reduce our pollution of the air, water, and land

What can you personally do?